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Questions for Robert Miranda Jr.: Parenting Cuts Genetic Risk of Teen Drinking

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Healtha118g snp, addiction researcher, adolescents, alcohol, alcohol use, alcohol use disorder, alcoholism, alcoholism risk, aud, aud diagnosis, behavior, brown university, child, david orenstein, disorder, environmental factor, european american, g allele, genetic predisposition, genetic risk factor, genomic dna, non aud youth, oprm1 gene, parenting, relationship, robert miranda, teens

In a new study, addiction researchers found that attentive parenting can overcome a genetic predisposition to alcohol use disorder among teens. Although further research is needed, says lead author Robert Miranda Jr., parents can have an impact if they “closely monitor their child’s behavior and peer group.”

In 2010 a team led by Robert Miranda Jr., associate professor (research) of psychiatry and human behavior in the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, found that teens with a single difference in their genes were more predisposed to alcohol use disorder. In a new study in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research he found that the risk was largely overcome in teens whose parents are attentive to their behavior and peer group. Miranda, a researcher at Brown’s Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, answered questions from science writer David Orenstein about the new study.

What did we know about genetic risk associated with A118G and teenage alcohol use going into this study?

In 2010, we reported in Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research the first evidence that the A118G SNP of the OPRM1 gene is associated with a greater number of alcohol-related problems as well as the development of an alcohol use disorder (AUD) among adolescents. Specifically, adolescents who met criteria for an AUD diagnosis had a higher prevalence of the G allele (51.9 percent) than non-AUD youth(16.3 percent), and the G allele accounted for 9 percent of the variance in alcohol-related problems experienced by youth in the past three months, with a moderate effect size. Although these findings are consistent with some adult studies in terms of the nature and magnitude of this association, other adult studies did not find this relationship. (more…)

Saving Storm-Damaged Photos

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012General, Science, Technologyart conservation, cellulose acetate, debra hess norris, film negative, heather brown, humidity condition, hurricane sandy, marsh grass, msnbc, news clip, photo album, photograph, photos, phyllis, save my photograph, saving, staten island, storm damaged, superstorm, von stein, wedding gown

UD conservators triage to provide advice, resources

In a news clip on MSNBC, Phyllis, a 62-year-old grandmother from Staten Island, clutches a black-and-white photograph of her mother in her wedding gown. She found the family treasure strewn among the muck and marsh grass where her shattered home ended up in Hurricane Sandy’s wake.

If you have recovered photographs or photo albums that were damaged by the superstorm, don’t throw them out. There is hope for saving storm-damaged photos, according to Debra Hess Norris, professor and chair of the Department of Art Conservation at the University of Delaware. (more…)

Crystals for Efficient Refrigeration

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Sciencecrystals, electrical polarization, electrocaloric effect, ferroelectric crystals, material changes, paraelectric state, temperature

Washington, D.C.-– Researchers at the Carnegie Institution have discovered a new efficient way to pump heat using crystals. The crystals can pump or extract heat, even on the nanoscale, so they could be used on computer chips to prevent overheating or even meltdown, which is currently a major limit to higher computer speeds. The research is published in the Physical Review Letters. (more…)

Improving Batteries

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Sciencebattery systems, block copolymer, conducting membranes, conductivity, delaware, doctoral student, improve, innate properties, kipp gutshall, lightweight, lithium battery, mechanical strength, membrane, nanoscale, structure, temperature stability, thermal properties, thomas epps, university, wei fan kuan

UD doctoral student studies ways to improve lithium battery performance

Lithium batteries are used in many devices such as cell phones, computers and cameras, among others.

University of Delaware doctoral student Wei-Fan Kuan is investigating ways to improve membranes used in lithium batteries by capitalizing on the innate properties of block copolymers.

It is work that he believes will become increasingly important as the components in electronic devices continue to get smaller. (more…)

Compound in Grapes, Red Wine Could be Key to Fighting Prostate Cancer

By Guest PostNovember 10, 2012Healthaggressive tumor, animal model, cancer, cardiovascular health, cell, chemotherapy, clinical trials, compound, granzyme b, grape skins, grocery stores, human health, michael nicholl, missouri, perforin, prostate cancer, prostate tumor, proteins, radiation therapy, radiation treatment, red wine, resveratrol, stroke prevention, therapeutic agent, university

MU researcher finds that prostate tumor cells are more susceptible to treatment after being exposed to resveratrol, a compound found in grape skins and red wine.

Resveratrol, a compound found commonly in grape skins and red wine, has been shown to have several beneficial effects on human health, including cardiovascular health and stroke prevention. Now, a University of Missouri researcher has discovered that the compound can make prostate tumor cells more susceptible to radiation treatment, increasing the chances of a full recovery from all types of prostate cancer, including aggressive tumors.

“Other studies have noted that resveratrol made tumor cells more susceptible to chemotherapy, and we wanted to see if it had the same effect for radiation therapy,” said Michael Nicholl, an assistant professor of surgical oncology in the MU School of Medicine. “We found that when exposed to the compound, the tumor cells were more susceptible to radiation treatment, but that the effect was greater than just treating with both compounds separately.” (more…)

IBM Helps Organizations Address Growing Mobile Computing Opportunity

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2012Technologyandroid, apple, blackberry devices, byod, cmos, data, global organizations, growing market, ibm, ios 6, it industry, manfred metz, Microsoft, mobile computing, operating system, phil buckellew, revenue, software, strategy, windows, windows 8

New software and services enable businesses to create and enhance mobile strategies

ARMONK, N.Y. – 09 Nov 2012: IBM today unveiled a suite of new software and services that enables global organizations to build a comprehensive mobile computing strategy – from securing and managing devices, to creating mobile applications and analyzing data. These new offerings are part of a move by IBM to capitalize on the growing market opportunity for mobile that is expected to drive $130B in revenue for the IT industry by 2015, according to a recent study.[i]

As organizations increasingly view mobile computing as the next platform to conduct business, the market is evolving beyond just the device. Business leaders including the chief information officers (CIOs) and increasingly chief marketing officers (CMOs) of global organizations such as airlines, retailers, governments and healthcare providers are among the businesses turning to IBM to ensure mobile services and solutions are readily available to constituents and in full compliance with IT strategies. They need solutions that can be applied across any mobile environment and device — whether a laptop, smartphone or tablet — and can provide an underlying IT infrastructure that is always available, secure, effectively manages data, and integrates both front and back-end systems. (more…)

Folding Funnels Key to Biomimicry

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2012Sciencebiomimicry, kinetic traps, nanoscale synthesis, protein folding, protein folding funnels

Berkeley Lab Finding that Protein Folding Funnels Also Apply to Self-Assembly Should Benefit Biomimicry and Nanosynthesis

Proteins are able to self-assemble into a wide range of highly ordered structures that feature a diverse array of properties. Through biomimicry – technological innovation inspired by nature – humans hope to emulate proteins and produce our own version of self-assembling molecules. A key to accomplishing this is understanding how protein-folding – a process critical to the form and function of a protein – is extended from individual proteins to complex assemblies. (more…)

Size Matters — Large CEO Signature Equals Small Performance

By Guest PostNovember 9, 2012Economy, Small Businessceo narcissism, ceo signature, company success, large ceo signature, narcissistic ceo, nick seybert, sec filings, superstar ceo

COLLEGE PARK, Md – The size of a CEO’s signature can reveal a lot about that leader and company success. A large, embellished signature signals a heavy narcissist and diminished firm performance, concludes a study of 400 CEO signatures by researchers in the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. (more…)

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